Author: revivewa

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Margaret and Haileigh face a different future

Hobart woman Margaret Collis admits she was quickly struck by the lack of blame for past white atrocities she felt laid at her feet by Aboriginal community members in Northern New South  Wales, she met during her participation in the About FACE program at the beginning of this year.

“I have heard of places where some Aboriginal people are [understandably] still very angry with white people and want to hold it [what happened in the past] over them,” she said. “But, that was  not my experience. There were no accusations directed at us.”

Margaret, who worships at Bellerive Uniting Church on Hobart’s eastern shore, was one of 17 participants in About FACE 2015 which was organised by the Synod of Victoria and Tasmania’s Commission for Mission, running for 16 days in January. She was one of 3 aged over 50, with the remaining 14 under the age of 30.

About FACE stands for Faith And Cultural Exchange and has  been an activity of the Uniting Church in Australia since 1984 with the aim of building meaningful relationships with Uniting  Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC) communities. It celebrates the covenant relationship between the Uniting Church in Australia and the UAICC, and encourages participants  and those supporting them to be actively involved in covenanting and working together for reconciliation in the church and in the wider community.

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Moderator’s column: Signing up for the ongoing journey

Hitch Hiker picMany decades ago, when most uni students could not afford a second-hand car, hitchhiking was always an option. In those days it was safe; by putting your thumb out on the road-side within  minutes you could be sitting in the front or back seat of a car having a friendly chat with a kind motorist.

There was, however, one major drawback: uncertainty. Hitchhikers had no timetables; they could wait minutes or hours for a ride. I once found myself in the Nevada desert (USA) standing in a  long line of hitchhikers. Some had been there several hours and none of us knew when the next car would stop. We also never knew whether the ride would be for 5 miles or 500. But if you were  young with little money and a sense of adventure it was a great way to travel.

The days of hitchhiking are well and truly over. It is dangerous and illegal, but I can’t help thinking there are parallels with this pursuit and ‘the road less travelled’ that Jesus calls us to. When  Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee and saw Peter and Andrew, his brother and later James and his brother, John, Jesus invited them to “Follow Me” (Matthew 4:18). Maybe these fishermen had  heard rumours about this carpenter/preacher. Maybe they had even listened in on one of his teachings or witnessed a miracle. Perhaps they felt a little bit like hitchhikers.

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80 years of ministry

A quiet lunch for four in country Victoria was the recent setting for the celebration of eighty years of ministry in the church between Rev Dr John Smith and Rev Peter Batchelor.

John and Peter were both born in the Wagin district and went on to service through the Methodist and the Uniting Church. Both were ordained at Wesley Church Perth (now Uniting Church in the City, Wesley Perth) on 13 of October, 1974. On this fortieth anniversary they met with their loved ones around a table to celebrate the occasion.

John was born in Wagin, and after a stint at the Eastern Goldfields Methodist Mission at Boulder as a Home Missionary in 1968, he studied at the Methodist Barclay Theological Hall and the  University of Western Australia. Commencing in 1974 John served in five Parishes in Western Australia and worked for the Uniting Church Synod as the Division of Mission and Nurture Co-ordinator. In 2000 He moved to Hotham Parish Mission in North Melbourne where he pastored to a varied flock including many notable academic and community leaders. John retired in  2013 and continues his reading, writing and occasional teaching on his interests and – always a country boy – commutes between his city home and his country retreat in Castlemaine.

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Reflecting on Como Manning

The closure of a congregation usually brings to me a tinge of sadness at the concept that memories won’t be created there anymore. I never considered Manning Uniting Church to be a quiet  peaceful church. It was full of life with a variety of activities for us kids. I have fond memories of plays, preparing the sets and rehearsing. Come Christmas time we would relocate to the hall for church instead of our chapel. Here we would make murals using one and two cent coins with the money going to the Christmas Bowl.

Church camps were a time for all of us to really be a community eating, worshiping, and learning together. I had many sets of parents and  grandparents looking out for me as well as friends  close to my age and older. This is where I developed the skills to move and work within a diverse age setting.

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New principal for the Hall

In October, Rev Emeritus Prof Bill Loader was appointed as the new Principal of Perth Theological Hall. His term will run till the end of 2015. For Bill, this is a return to the Hall where he taught from 1978-2005.

Bill sees his return as coming at an exciting time of change and renewal in the church concerning theological education both for lay people and for those preparing for ordained ministry.

“We are beginning to see new forms of being church and a key role will be to support and resource these so that they continue to be rooted in the faith of the church and its traditions as they seek to bring them to fresh expression,” Bill said.

At the national level talks are underway to transform the way theological education is coordinated and resourced across the synods with new and promising possibilities of much closer collaboration, especially in professional formation. In WA there has been an important review process looking to the future shape especially of formation for ordained ministry. It is likely to lead to new ways of doing things at a number of levels: from ways of assessment, deployment of staff resources, engagement of local UCA expertise, to development of a wider range of methods of delivery including intensives.

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Bridging the age gap

Rockingham Uniting Church has always welcomed and encouraged its youngest members. In our Kids of Uniting Church in Australia (KUCA) group on Sundays, children would learn and have fun, however there was always something missing.

With KUCA finishing after age twelve, those who finished had no next step along their faith journey other than to join adult worship and studies if they wished. To cater for this fast growing demographic, Rockingham has implemented two new groups to help the youth and young adults of the church to continue to grow in their faith and as people.

Our Youth Group, aimed at high school aged teens, has been running for more than three years now and continues to attract new members from both within and outside the church congregation. Mostly comprised of games and activities with elements of team building and prayer, the youth group offers a great setting for local teens to enjoy fellowship and have fun together whilst growing into well rounded young people.

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Breaking the tradition and connecting with God

Sunday 2 November 2014

IMG_20120429_094340Five people are on the veranda outside Melville Uniting Church hall tie-dying t-shirts. Inside the hall, others are sticking strips of coloured cloth to wooden dolls while another group is painting pictures of stars and wheat. Meanwhile there is deep discussion all around the building about the story of Joseph: about humility, ambition, and favouritism in families.

This is Craft Church, an all age worship experience where art and craft provide the means for genuine engagement with the scriptures, with each other, and with God.

One Sunday each month at Melville Uniting Church, we don’t sing hymns or hear a sermon. We begin together with prayers and the Bible reading, but then we split into groups to talk about the story as we do our different craft activities (a diversity to suit the different interests and abilities) before joining back again for a big group discussion, a closing prayer and a sending out. The basic elements of worship are still there, but they look a bit different.

So how did this come about? Let’s rewind.

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Dreaming of adventure and growth

St Stephen’s School has celebrated the purchase of a new campsite with a community open day inviting students and families to tour the grounds and dream of its future possibilities.

Located in Dwellingup, close to Scotch College’s – another Uniting Church School – Moray campsite, Trinity College’s Camp Kelly and the Nanga Bush Camp, the site is 46 hectares of land with exciting developmental opportunities.

Tony George, Principal of St Stephen’s School, said they chose to purchase the property because of its natural features which will enhance the school’s already existing outdoor education program, including 800m of Murray River frontage, extensive native forest and its access to both the Munda Biddi Trail and Bibbulmun Track.

The camp’s location close to the historic town of Dwellingup will provide students with an opportunity to learn more about the land. Dr Phil Ridden, who has recently written a history of the school, is now writing a history of the site so that visitors might have a better understanding of the connection Australia’s Aboriginal people have with the land.

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Two become one

In 1977 the Uniting Church in Australia came into being when the  Presbyterian, Methodist and Congregational churches joined together. Since that time, Albany Scots Uniting Church and Albany Wesley Uniting Church have continued to lead independent lives.

After several years of working closely together the decision was made to become one congregation under the name of Albany Uniting Church.

Extensive discussions discerning the future role of the church led to mutually agreeing that worship should be held in the Duke Street property and endeavour to use York Street to raise an income.

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Bring down your walls this Christmas

‘Joshua fit the battle of Jericho…and the walls came tumbling down!’

This song and the story have been in my head since the celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The stories about these walls are different: the Jericho wall was built to protect its inhabitants and to keep intruders out; the Berlin wall was built to stop East German people leaving their country en masse.

The stories about these walls are also similar: they were both brought down without violence, by people power, by persistent trust in a future that could be better than the present, by faith, as the Hebrews author puts it.

Yes, Jericho was invaded after the walls crumbled and its population butchered, but that is not the point. The point is that walls can be brought down – no matter how long, high, big or strong they are. The point is that when they do come down, there is reason for celebration.

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